The Paul S. Martin papers, 1910-2006
MS 442

Collection Number: MS 442

Creator:

Paul S. Martin

Title:

The Paul S. Martin papers

Inclusive Dates:

1910-2006

Quantity:

16 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection consists of professional correspondence, research files and publication files of paleoecologist and geoscientist Dr. Paul S. Martin, Emeritus Professor of Geosciences at the University of Arizona. Collection also includes material relating to Tumamoc Hill Desert Laboratory, where Dr. Martin worked and conducted research for more than 50 years. Completing the collection are nine scrapbooks of newspaper clippings about ecological, social and political issues collected by Paul S. Martin from 1951-1970.

Biographical Note

Paul Schultz Martin was born August 22, 1928 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. in Zoology from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 1951. He then earned a Master’s degree in Zoology in 1953, followed by a Ph.D. in Zoology in 1956, both from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His early career aspiration to focus on collecting and studying plant and fossil specimens from tropical rainforests was cut short when he contracted polio at age 23 while in Mexico. After receiving his Ph.D., he conducted postdoctoral research in Biogeography at Yale University from 1955-1956 and then at Université de Montreal from 1956-1957. In 1957, he moved to Tucson to accept a position as a Research Associate with University of Arizona’s Geochronology Laboratories, thus beginning his long association with Tumamoc Hill Desert Laboratory. He was named Assistant Professor in 1961 and Associate Professor in 1962. He held the position of Professor in the Department of Geosciences from 1968 until 1989 when he was named Emeritus Professor. He remained an active researcher and vital part of the Tumamoc Hill Desert Laboratory for more than 50 years.

Dr. Martin is well-known as a primary developer and leading expert on the subject of prehistoric overkill, a pattern of global extinction over the last 40,000 years which coincided with human colonization spreading out of Africa and Asia. His theories have been the subject of much debate since the 1960’s and have helped rejuvenate interest in the study of prehistoric extinctions. His interest in the extinction chronology of late Pleistocene large animals has taken him to fossil sites all around the world including Chile, New Zealand and Australia. This fossil research led him to develop extinction models based on human activity as the main cause of the rapid extinctions of large animals such as the mammoth, mastodon and giant ground sloth. In addition, Dr. Martin conducted research about Pleistocene biotic changes in arid regions. He studied the biogeography of eastern Mexico, the Pleistocene fossil pollen record of Arizona, and the ability of fossil packrat middens to reveal important information about climatic changes. Dr. Martin is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Last 10,000 Years: A Fossil Pollen Study of the American Southwest, Pleistocene Extinctions: The Search for a Cause, and Twilight of the Mammoths. Before his retirement, he was also a highly regarded professor of Quaternary Biogeography for more than 30 years, well known for his gentle nature, memorable quotes, and enthusiasm for facilitating discovery and learning. His research gave him a unique, long range perspective on the mechanisms and impact of species extinction and environmental destruction. His dedication to ecological and social issues is reflected in his involvement with various efforts to protect endangered flora and fauna of the Southwest from potential human destruction.

Scope and Content

Correspondence, research files, publication files, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks. The numerous boxes of correspondence files contain letters both written by and received by Dr. Martin during of his professional career (principally covers the years 1975-1990). This material includes correspondence with various scientists, researchers, publishers, students and others. The correspondence files are arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent. The first subseries of the research files consist of varied material gathered in the course of scientific and professional research. This subseries also contains copies of Dr. Martin’s National Science Foundation grant proposals, data on Southwestern fauna, efforts to stop the controversial construction of a telescope on Mount Graham, as well as other articles and newspaper clippings about varied topics. The second subseries of the research files contains records detailing data collected by Dr. Martin after the spraying of Agent Orange on the town of Globe, Arizona in 1969. The publication files contain copies of articles written by Dr. Martin over the course of his career, spanning from 1951-2006. Also included is correspondence to and from Dr. Martin regarding his published books and articles. The publication files also contain copies of reviews of Dr. Martin’s published works from various sources. The next series compiles newspaper clippings written about Dr. Paul S. Martin and his research during the years 1959-2000. The following series focuses on the Tumamoc Hill Desert Laboratory. This series contains correspondence related to activities at the Desert Lab, as well as fundraising materials, staff bibliographies and library information. Blueprints, planning and policy documents and research files are also included. Materials about flora and fauna of Tumamoc Hill are also present. Articles and photographs describing the history of Tumamoc Hill Desert Lab form another part of this series. Lastly, the various threats to the lab and its continued operation from the 1960’s through the early 2000’s are detailed through collected newspaper clippings. The final series of the collection consists of nine scrapbooks of newspaper clippings collected by Dr. Martin from 1951-1970 which detail political, social and ecological issues of the times.

Conditions Governing Access

None.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish
from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record,
the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The
user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the
University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all
claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.

This series consists of Dr. Paul S. Martin’s published works and related materials. The first part of this series containing published articles is arranged chronologically. The remaining files of correspondence and reviews are arranged alphabetically by the title of the published work to which the material refers.

Box

Folder

14

8

Publication Files--Articles 1951-1959

14

9

Publication Files--Articles 1960-1964

14

10

Publication Files--Articles 1965-1967

Box

Folder

15

1

Publication Files--Articles 1968-1980

15

2

Publication Files--Articles 1981-1986

15

3

Publication Files--Articles 1987-1990

15

4

Publication Files--Articles 1995

15

5

Publication Files--Articles 1998-1999

15

6

Publication Files--Articles 2000-2006

15

7

Publication Files--Articles Undated

15

8

Publication Files--Articles Undated

15

9

Publication Files--Correspondence--Gentry’s Rio Mayo Plants

15

10

Publication Files--Correspondence--Paleolithic Players on the American Stage

15

11

Publication Files--Correspondence--Pleistocene Extinctions: The Search for a Cause